The Colon Club

I’ve been lurking on this page for a few weeks now, I’m scared and need advice. I’m 33 years old and I have a severe anxiety/panic disorder. As you can imagine it greatly complicated the issue of getting a colonoscopy with I know is the gold standard. With that being said, my father died from colon cancer at 46. When he was diagnosed he underwent gene testing to see if he had any hereditary syndromes that could be passed and he was told they were none. My understanding from doctor google is even though he didn’t have any hereditary genes to pass I’m still at an increased risk because of his age. I’ve been to the doctor,she treats my anxiety so she’s aware of the issues. She has just ordered cologaurd for me to take.ive taken fobt tests and they were negative. I’m trying to exhaust all the other tests at my disposal. My symptoms right now are narrow stool, random cramps and occasional diarrhea. The cancer my dad had was in the large colon on the right side stage 4. Thanks for the help guys

Hi William.
Sorry about your dad. You are fine until symptoms show otherwise.
You have one awful hill to climb (really a breaking mountain pass with a few dragons) in order to get through things. I like the phrase that describes life at times being '..the battlefield of the mind..' with cancer being one of those 'dragons' amongst other issues thrown in. It sounds as though your doctor is pretty good.
Hmmmm .... I am no doctor but my lay persons view is that a colonoscopy, being a pretty non invasive check (but will have a cost) would likely give you the peace of mind that you need right now.
Steve

PS- 'Dr Google' is great for sorting out sick/dying motorbikes (or classic cars if you prefer) but can really muck up a diagnosis of human sickness.

I think a colonoscopy is about as invasive as you can get, barring surgery. I also think a colonoscopy would give you great peace of mind. They give you great drugs so you might not even be awake. If it takes a benzodiazepine for you to get there I think it's well worth it.

Oh guy are absolutely right about the colonoscopy being peace of mind and I’m trying best to get there I’m just hoping I’m the mean time some of these other tests will help ease my anxiety, do anyo you have experience with cologaurd or any other of the dna stool test or ct scans or anything else that could be useful?

SteveNZ wrote:Hi William.
You have one awful hill to climb (really a breaking mountain pass with a few dragons) in order to get through things. (

Please excuse this brief hijack of the thread: SteveNZ, I'm borrowing that one!

Will_lay, I'm not a doctor or medical professional so this is based solely on my own experience or what I've been told. I don't want to keep using the phrase, "it's my understanding that ..." repeatedly so please let it be a given. When a first degree relative has colon cancer, the protocol is to begin screening 10 years before the family member was diagnosed. In your case, you wouldn't typically be considered for a colonoscopy until 36. It's both a medical issue and an insurance challenge to have it done earlier unless there is a compelling reason to suspect CRC. You might be showing symptoms of CRC but those are also symptoms for several other MUCH less serious conditions (try to focus on that thought). Have you seen a gastroenterologist? If not, I would suggest consulting with one. They deal with these questions all day long, and they will be the most likely doctor to know the appropriate tests for the conditions that could be causing your symptoms. If anxiety/panic is keeping you from having a colonoscopy, this might help a little: in the space of less than 24 hours, you could be done with the prep and a colonoscopy, and then you will know. Sometimes the fear is much worse than the reality, and the added anxiety isn't good for you. I don't pretend to understand what you're going through because I've never had a severe anxiety/panic disorder but I've watched a family member struggle with it. From the outside, it's easy for me to say, "just do it and find out, don't put yourself through more weeks/months of questions when you could be 24 hours away from an answer" but there's also a part of me that realizes it would be like you telling me to "go jump off this cliff" and to trust you.

Wishing you peace of mind.

Will_lay wrote:I’ve been lurking on this page for a few weeks now, I’m scared and need advice. I’m 33 years old and I have a severe anxiety/panic disorder. As you can imagine it greatly complicated the issue of getting a colonoscopy with I know is the gold standard. With that being said, my father died from colon cancer at 46. When he was diagnosed he underwent gene testing to see if he had any hereditary syndromes that could be passed and he was told they were none. My understanding from doctor google is even though he didn’t have any hereditary genes to pass I’m still at an increased risk because of his age. I’ve been to the doctor,she treats my anxiety so she’s aware of the issues. She has just ordered cologaurd for me to take.ive taken fobt tests and they were negative. I’m trying to exhaust all the other tests at my disposal. My symptoms right now are narrow stool, random cramps and occasional diarrhea. The cancer my dad had was in the large colon on the right side stage 4. Thanks for the help guys

Hey Will,

I had severe anxiety/panic disorder with agoraphobia and can well understand how many hurdles that creates. You say that you have a doctor who
treats your anxiety, yeah? On a scale of 'one-to-flying monkey weather' : how difficult is it for you to attend your doctor's rooms? What about waiting
in a chemist for your script to be filled? How about going to the supermarket to buy groceries? Travelling on public transport? Driving anywhere....
can you do a dentist's visit?

Tell us what you CAN do.......

As I am a consultant in panic anxiety disorders (in my region, which is Melbourne), I would like to know if your anxiety/panic disorder had been
complicating your life before your dad received his diagnosis and if the condition became more debilitating after his death - (what year was that?)

Do you have siblings who share your concerns regarding the hereditary factor?

When you think about undergoing a colonoscopy, what terrifies you the most? You will be anaesthetized you know. I would be so turning up for one of
them just for that nice buzz and a couple of hours of peace from the invasive crazy squirrel anxiety dervish thang. How will you reward yourself
afterwards?

A severe panic anxiety disorder has you over a barrel, which by the way, is the perfect position to assume for a colonoscopy.

Hope that the Cologuard returns a result that can wind back your anxiety.

I use 1 mg of Lorazepam to get through Rad Treatments...they talk me through on machine.

I too suffer from severe anxieties at times. Daily treatments dont help.

Must use it on off days too. Otherwise shake like a leaf spazz attacks. 1 mg not addictive.

Good Luck!!